Financial talk show host Dave Ramsey on Thursday railed against President Joe Biden’s proposed coronavirus relief package, and the included stimulus checks, saying that it’s like “peeing on a forest fire.”
Ramsey appeared on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” and discussed with host Bill Hemmer what he sees as the problem with the package and direct payments.
“There are some situations where folks are hurting and this thing has gotten completely out of hand. I mean, there are people’s lives who have been destroyed by this program,” Ramsey began. “Somebody needs some relief somewhere. I’m fine with that. But this has nothing to do with really helping people. This is a political gimme by progressives simply trying to buy votes.”
“We know that because when you go from $10,000 in forgiveness to $50,000 in forgiveness the people who benefit are not lower income people. The vast majority of people that have an average income or less have less than $10,000 of student loan debt. The vast majority of people who would be blessed by moving it from 10 to 50 are high income earners. So again, this is all political rhetoric. It’s not reality,” he continued, referring to a proposal by Democrats to forgive student loans, something not included in the package.
Biden released the details of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package in January, which includes $1,400 direct payments to Americans. If the package becomes law, this will be the third round of direct payments the country has seen since the start of the coronavirus pandemic early last year. Republicans have criticized the high cost of the bill and have counter-offered with a reduced $1,000 in direct payments, among other items.
Hemmer went on to ask Ramsey what he thought would be the right number for the next stimulus check.
“Well, I don’t believe in a stimulus check because if $600 or $1400 changes your life, you were pretty much screwed already. You’ve got other issues going on. You have a career problem, you have a debt problem, you have a relationship problem, you have a mental health problem,” Ramsey responded.
“Something else is going on if $600 changes your life. And that’s not talking down to folks. I’ve been bankrupt. I’ve been broke. And I work with people everyday who are hurting. I love people. I want people to be lifted up. But this is, again, it is just political rhetoric and it’s just throwing dollars out there. It’s peeing on a forest fire. It’s absolutely ridiculous,” he concluded.
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